


In the darkness, will you stay by my side?

by angstyun



Series: The Misanthropy Universe [2]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends Huening Kai & Kang Taehyun, Blood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Graphic Description, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nightmares, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25920037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstyun/pseuds/angstyun
Summary: Taehyun wakes up in a cottage, far away from the chaos of the city he calls home.[This is a side story of my work Misanthropy, but you do not have to read it to understand this.]
Relationships: Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Series: The Misanthropy Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881064
Kudos: 22





	In the darkness, will you stay by my side?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:
> 
> This one-shot is set in the Misanthropy Universe, but you do not have to read Misanthropy to understand it. 
> 
> The story happens before the events of the fic! 
> 
> Thanks and enjoy,
> 
> Megan

Taehyun opened his eyes slowly, the sound of chirping bluebirds flooding his senses. Last time he had checked, he lived in the city, not the countryside. He resided far away from the serene landscape and the sound of twittering wildlife.

He was in a cottage, one that was seemingly familiar, yet he couldn't place his finger on exactly why. The open window displayed a clear blue sky, the sun showering its rays onto the lush green vegetation below. It was beautiful here, peaceful.

The only thing that was missing was Kai. He was nowhere to be seen and Taehyun desperately missed waking up to his warmth.

"Kai?"

He called out, getting up from the soft bed and stretching his arms. For once, he felt fully rested and ready to start the day. It seemed that his sleep had been nightmare free, and that was a cause for celebration.

"Good morning, Tyun!"

As if by magic, Kai walked through the door, carrying a tray with pretty little china cups and a teapot. 

It was unusual for Kai to drink tea, but Taehyun simply shrugged the peculiar gesture away. He was just happy to see the younger smiling and carefree for once.

"Morning Hyuka. How and when did we get here?" 

Kai tilted his head, his eyes glaring blankly at him. The air seemed to chill, a shiver cascading from the top of Taehyun's spine to the tip of his toes. 

"What do you mean? We've always lived here."

The tray slipped from Kai's hands, china clattering and smashing against the wooden flooring. He was visibly shaken, his hands trembling and eyes wide. 

"Hey hey, it's fine. It's just some cups. We can get new ones."

But as Taehyun reached out to comfort him, his body disintegrated into dust. Kai was gone, just out of his reach, evaporated. 

Taehyun was frozen, glued to the spot. Everything inside him was on hold. Nothing in his body would process what had just happened, let alone the darkening sky that crept across the blue horizon. 

He let out a gut-wrenching scream, his body collapsing into a heap on the floor. He wanted to wake up; he wanted to go back in time to when his best friend was smiling, happily greeting him a good morning.

"K...Kai?"

There was no trace of him, the only sign of his existence being the pieces of razor-sharp china that littered the floor. 

"Kai? This isn't funny, Kai. Come here."

He let out a small laugh, rising to his feet with a womble.

"Haha. Very funny." 

The more Taehyun denied reality, the more violent and dark the sky became. 

A shadow began to grow behind him, morphing into a figure that would forever haunt his nightmares. It was silent, approaching the stumbling figure with a sinister grin. 

"This is all your fault. You killed him." 

Taehyun froze. That voice was like scolding fire, burning his body with every syllable. 

"You destroyed everything."

As the shadow grew larger, Taehyun grew smaller, moving away until his back hit the wall. He was terrified, the very being he despised leaning over him. He was a monster with no face, a shadow that preyed on his deepest fears. He portrayed the one who had brought Taehyun so much suffering. 

A demon.

The monster continued to tower over him, engulfing all the remaining light and morphing it to darkness. Without Kai, everything seemed darker, scarier. 

His chest felt tight, his heart rapidly thumping against his rib cage and trying to escape his trembling body. Everything felt heavy, pinning him to the wall with no escape. No matter how much he fought, he couldn’t escape. He couldn’t break free.

The shadow was going to take over him, turning him into the emotionless monster he so feared. 

Or so he thought. 

It began to split, forming into many identical clones. It felt like looking in a mirror, staring many copies of himself straight in the eyes.

Their voices surrounded him, whispering nightmares into his ears and feeding thousands of different lies into his head. They told stories of his rich history, how everything had changed in an instant, the secrets that he had kept hidden for so long. To Taehyun, there was only one thing scarier than that figure, and that was staring himself in the mirror. 

Some of the clones were deformed, broken arms and broken necks. Others had blood trickling from deep bullet holes in their heads, their eyes lifeless and skin pale, cold. A couple of them even had no eyes at all, just empty black voids that never seemed to end.

They clawed at his skin, scratching. No matter how much he tried to scream, no sound left his lips. It was like screaming in the dead of space, a soundless void, silence. He tried to call out for someone, for anyone to save him from his own demons. He was destroying himself. 

“Tyun?”

The voice sounded so familiar, so warm and comforting. For a moment, a small ray of light broke into the void, cutting the darkness apart like a knife. The boy continued to cower, rocking back and forth with his knees tight to his chest. 

“Taehyun.”

Taehyun knew that worried voice well. He had heard it for so many years now; it was ingrained in his mind permanently. If only he could find his breath again, he could mutter a response. 

“Open your eyes. Wake up.”

Taehyun’s eyes shot open wide, his body lurching up by instinct. His whole being was trembling, his breathing erratic, laboured and panicked. His heart was beating so hard that his body reverberated with every pulsation. 

Sweat dripped from his forehead as he glanced around panicked, gradually taking in the surroundings. A pair of arms were quickly wrapped around his waist, a comforting warmth embracing him from behind.

"It's okay, Tyunnie. Just breathe, okay? Breathe. It's over now. It's over."

Water welled in his eyes, the barrier breaking easily at his best friend's touch. There was something about Kai that made him feel safe, allowing him to showcase his vulnerability when he otherwise would not be able to. 

Kai melted down the iron barricades with ease, wiggling his way deep into Taehyun's heart and calming him from the inside out.

"I'm here, Tyun. You're safe here."

Taehyun let himself melt into Kai's arms, letting his sobs free and no longer holding back. The more he trembled, the more he attempted to hide from the world. Kai was warm, a safe space to which he could call his home. When he was in his brother's arms, it felt like nothing could touch him.

Kai played softly with Taehyun's hair, running each delicate strand through his fingers with great care and attention. Taehyun's nightmares were not uncommon nowadays, even becoming more frequent by the day, and Kai was struggling to deal with seeing him so deeply hurt.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Some nightmares were better than others. Some were so graphic that he'd have to run to the bathroom and puke afterwards. They were hard to talk about, hard to explain.

Taehyun often wondered how he had got to this position, looking up to a sky of brittle fractured glass. His perfect, clear view of the world had begun to shatter, leaving only broken dreams, tearful glazed eyes and the nightmares that always followed. 

"I was...surrounded by clones of myself and you were gone and...and I tried to scream for someone to save me, but no words would come out my mouth."

Kai nodded, his eyes glistening with light tears of concern. He hated to see Taehyun like this, swamped in self-hatred and fear, fighting against a plague of horrific, graphic nightmares. Knowing he could do little stabbed knives into his heart, it ached. 

"But I'm here now, yeah? And I'm not going anywhere."

Tenderly wiping Taehyun's tears, Kai moved to look him in the eyes. There were glossy, tears silently streaming down his cheeks, fear etched into their very centre.

"You don't need to be afraid anymore."

Kai held Taehyun's hands tightly, linking their fingers together. All Taehyun needed right now was someone to hold him close, to help his rapid heartbeat slow to a normal rhythm again. 

"Because you have me." 

Resting his forehead on Kai's own, Taehyun allowed himself to finally breathe. He counted every breath, using the warmth of Kai's hands to ground himself back to reality.

As long as Kai was by his side, he felt like he could do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> H!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading <3 Misanthropy reader or not, I'm grateful to you for reading my work! Thank you ♥
> 
> \- Megan
> 
> (You can follow me on twitter @angstyun <3)


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